Arcturus Publishing Ltd The Ghost Stories of M. R. James (Arcturus Classics).

by M.R. James

MR James (1862–1936) began composing his antiquarian ghost stories for a close circle of his colleagues at the University of Cambridge, to whom he would read them aloud every Christmas Eve. These 13 unnerving tales, inspired by his belief that objects from centuries ago can harbour unsettling associations, includes such classics as Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lord and The Haunted Doll's House.

256 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2025

About the author

Montague Rhodes James, who used the publication name M.R. James, was a noted English mediaeval scholar & provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–18) & of Eton College (1918–36). He's best remembered for his ghost stories which are widely regarded as among the finest in English literature. One of James' most important achievements was to redefine the ghost story for the new century by dispensing with many of the formal Gothic trappings of his predecessors, replacing them with more realistic contemporary settings.

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

M.R.^James

Reviews

[Iliyan · Rating 3 out of 5]

“The Ghost Stories of M.R. James” is a collection of 13 beautifully written ghost/ horror stories. The world building is exceptional as is expected from a 19th century writer, with plots consisting of a lot of interconnected details and characters with a rich, in depth backstory.

If I were to read these stories as just tales and not as ghost/ horror stories, I would’ve been quite happy with them. However, as I randomly decided that May will be October, I was craving some spooky ghost stories, so I picked up a few, “The Ghost Stories of M.R. James” being one of them.

I was let down by this anthology. I found the stories rather mundane, with 2/3rd of the text of each story serving only for setting up the backdrop by having a too-long “intro”, with lots of unnecessary details that do not really concern the reader and do not add much to the plot. After this the author introduces the paranormal piece, turning up the “spooky” factor, and then… the story ends abruptly, making me craving more and feel unsatisfied, and not in a good way.

The stories themselves did also feel repetitive. There were a few outliers, however the general plot formula goes the following way: the main protagonist comes into possession of a haunted object, they start feeling as if some energy is present in the room, it materializes, the main protagonist is either unalived or the object is destroyed/ burned so the “curse” could be lifted. As one can imagine, if you were to isolate a few of the stories it would be fine, however reading them one after another gets mundane rather fast.

As for the creepiness factor, these were pretty tame. I appreciate that they are 19th century stories so it is apparent that I should not expect modern day horror, and it is also anticipated and almost granted that these will not have the same impact as modern day horror. I’ve decided not to have mini reviews on each story, however I did rate their creepiness, which you can find below:

1👻 - not creepy at all
5👻 - I will be sleeping with my light on the next few days….

Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad - 3👻
Casting the Runes - 3👻
A Warning to the Curious - 1👻
The Ash Tree - 1👻
Count Magnus - 1👻
The Haunted Doll's House - 1👻
Lost Hearts - 1👻
Number 13 - 2👻
The Wailing Well - 3👻
The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral - 1👻
Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book - 1👻
The Mezzotint - 1 👻
Mr Humphreys and His Inheritance -1👻

[Tom Trudel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes one does best to not meddle with unknown forces. Maybe a little formulaic by the end but pulls on more traditional haunting myths to deliver more rooted horror tales. "Oh, Whistle..." is the most effective of these, with other close contenders being maybe "The Wailing Well" or "A Warning to the Curious".

[Melodie Wendel-Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has a Gothic feel, but nothing really stood out. Fast read.